The Israeli Girl Soldier Returns to the
Fifth Grade Class (Beginning Sept. 28th)
By George Nielsen
On September 28th, the new Memory Verse for October 2014 was introduced and assigned to the students — Ephesians 6: 10--11. I also introduced the photo shown below to the class — the Israeli Girl Soldier.
Images and photographs are used in our class to help reinforce teaching points. We use a picture of an actor portraying JESUS, on a regular basis, and have used others, such as Olympic Champion gymnast Gabby Douglas, and drawings - most notably our “On the RIGHT PATH” drawing, about being a faithful follower of Jesus.
September 28th marked the date of my returning to the use of this picture, the Israeli Girl Soldier, posing (near the Sea of Galilee) with her weapon, a high-powered automatic rifle. It was last shown to the class from two years ago (now the 7th graders), and returns after about a 20-month absence.
Be Strong and Courageous — This is the teaching point that is emphasized when I display the 8.5” x 11” picture in class, for discussion. I particularly make reference to these character qualities — encouraging the girls that they are not for the boys only; girls can be strong and courageous too.
All of our fifth graders need to be prepared for challenges they will face — challenges to our faith and to the moral boundaries we teach. We want them to do what is right and to reject what is wrong, having both the knowledge of right and wrong, and the conviction that they will stand for what is right, with the courage to act based on those convictions.
Accordingly, we spend class time going over our Memory Verse, Ephesians 6: 10-11, for teaching, discussion, and practice at memorization.
The assigned verse is the NIV-2011 version:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6: 10 - 11 (NIV)
Parents should note that the picture shows the soldier’s weapon, which is very similar in appearance to the Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that was used by the person who murdered children and adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 20 months ago, that incident had just happened, and there was a very emotional response by the public to this tragic crime. I stopped displaying/discussing the Israeli Girl Soldier picture at that time, not wanting to have student discussion or questions lead into comments about that crime. My concern was that stirring up raw, fearful emotions among the students would result.
I do not feel that the classroom setting is the proper place for 5th graders to be exposed to this kind of gross violence. Rather, at home with their parents is the proper place, and parents should be the judge of how much information is suitable for their child.
Our policy is that we are very circumspect about discussing violent, criminal acts that are current events. In the past 52 months that I have taught the fifth grade class at RCC, there has been only one violent crime current event mentioned in class. There was a “Sunday School that Clicks” activity in 2013 that discussed a video from ABC News about the movie theater mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado that had happened about four weeks earlier.
I believe that the heightened awareness of people having and using high-powered weapons, and of a person using them to kill children, is not as prevalent now as it was 20 months ago. So, the Israeli Girl Soldier has returned to our class, since this picture serves as a good teaching tool.
There is a “Bonus” Memory Verse that I will assign to the class on October 12th, that goes with this picture — 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14, using the Holman Christian Standard version (HCSB).
